Good as Gold
by May-B-Madd
Summary: Charlie and his Aunt Joelle visit the chocolate factory. They see the most amazing things, and perhaps Charlie's aunt discovers that the most amazing of them all is Wonka himself.  Wilder Wonka/OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Tickets_

"Aunt Joelle! Aunt Joelle! Have you heard?" asked the panting Charlie as he returned from his paper route.

"Boy, have I." she said, her smooth voice rougher than usual," There have been people cramming in and out of the shop screeching for 'their golden ticket'. They gave me a headache."

"Do you think I have a chance?"

"As much as anybody else." She smiled at him and leaned in close so that Charlie could clearly see her light splattering of nut colored freckles, "Maybe a little bit more than everyone else."

"Don't give him false hopes, Jo. You mark my words, the first person to get a golden ticket will be fat, fat , fat!" said Grandpa George gruffly.

Augustus Gloop was indeed very, _very _fat. And, as he ate grotesquely on live television, he seemed to grow fatter in front of their very eyes.

Charlie and his aunt looked at each other and wrinkled their noses. He may like Mr. Wonka's chocolates, but Augustus Gloop didn't deserve that golden ticket.

The second person to find a golden ticket was Miss Veronica Salt, and she found it on Charlie's birthday. The Bucket's were crowded around the flickering television, watching the prissy little egotistical brat hold her ticket for the camera and smile for an hour before they gave Charlie his gifts.

His mother held out a squishy, huggable looking package first. When he opened it, Charlie found a new, cherry red scarf nestled in the inexpensive wrappings.

"It's terrific!" exclaimed Charlie.

"We each knitted a bit," admitted his mother modestly ,"Grandma Georgina, Grandma Josephine , and I."

"And this," said his Aunt Jo, "is from your Grandpa George and I."

She passed him a small, brightly wrapped package.

"I think I know what this is," said Charlie excitedly, "It is! A Wonka."

"Let's open it Charlie!" said his Aunt," I want that chocolate!"

The shine in her eyes said that she hoped with all of her might that Charlie would get a golden ticket. Everyone leaned forward as Charlie turned away to open the chocolate.

"I got it!" he called

"Where! Where!" erupted the shack full of people.

"Fooled you, didn't I. You thought I really had it." said Charlie to hide his disappointment.

"Well," said his aunt, her eyes lighting with childish delight," You do have that chocolate. And Wonka chocolate is worth its' weight in gold."

"Here, everybody have a bite."

The room erupted into protest until they finally gave in. Charlie watched his aunt savor the piece of chocolate he had given her. She didn't even seem to notice she wasn't alone.

"Wonka added a bit of cinnamon to this batch."

"How can you tell? It doesn't taste a bit like cinnamon."

"It doesn't have to taste like cinnamon to be cinnamon. "She said mysteriously, her eyes opening briefly to wink at her nephew.

The next person to find a golden ticket was a Miss Violet Beauregarde, an avid gum chewer with a haughty disposition. She was obviously determined to win Mr. Wonka's grand prize, even at the cost of other people's health. She also liked to brag, and held the spotlight in the news until the fourth ticket was found.

Mike Teevee was the fourth person to find a ticket. He claimed to have figured out exactly where the ticket was most likely to show up. The Bucket's thought he was a dreadful, violent monster.

The fifth ticket was claimed by a man in Paraguay. Charlie, his aunt, and their family didn't even keep the TV on long enough to hear the rest of the story.

...

As usual, this is a first draft until people tell me what to change. Thank you for reading.

-May-B-Madd


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Treasure_

On his way home the next day, Charlie found just enough money for a single candy bar. He looked over to Bill's Candy Shop hesitantly. He should take this home to his mother, but the temptation was too great.

He stepped inside and looked around for his aunt.

"Hello, Charlie!" greeted the owner familiarly, "Here to see your Joelle? I'm paying her a little extra to make me a new sign for the front of my shop. She's out back working on it."

"Thanks, but I'm here to buy something today. And it's for my Aunt, so if you could keep it quiet."

"Of course. She does love her chocolate doesn't she? Maybe more than Wonka himself."

"Could you get me a plain Wonkabar and the largest Wonka chocolate you've got?"

"Of course. One Wonkabar and a Scrumdidliumtios bar coming right up."

Charlie passed over his recently obtained coin and received the chocolates in return. He left the shop just moments before his aunt reentered the shop, wiping her paint covered hands on a ragged towel.

He made his way over to pick up his newspapers and found the stand mobbed with a cacophony of sound and people.

"Did you hear?"

"The last ticket-"

"It was a fake!"

Charlie's eyes widened as he reached discreetly in and touched the two Wonka bars in his bag.

"Charlie!" shouted the owner of the stand,"I haven't got any more papers today! Just go on home!"

Charlie did go home. In fact, he ran there as quickly as possible, his now seemingly heavy bag banging against his side.

He waited a full hour until his aunt got home, her cocoa brown hair disheveled.

"Today was a wild day, Bucket's. That fifth golden ticket was a fake and the store was positively mobbed. There isn't an unopened Wonka chocolate bar for miles tonight."

"Aunt Jo,"said Charlie pulling out his bag, "there are at least two."

Then he pulled out the two chocolate bars he had bought earlier that day.

"When did you get those? I was in the shop all day!"

"You went to make that new sign for the shop."

"I vaguely remember doing that some time before the mob rushed in."

"Let's open them!"

The family gathered around, their heads almost touching as Charlie opened the first Wonka chocolate bar. Nothing.

Squeezing in even tighter than before, Charlie held out one end of the Wonkabar to his aunt.

"You open that end, I'll open this end. For luck."

"For luck." she agreed.

Then they peeled away the paper wrapper, and unwrapped the corners of the foil delicately.

They lifted it just a little and as they began to lift it, they revealed the golden glint of a ticket.

The shack erupted into cheers.

"It says I can bring one family member with me to the factory." Said Charlie.

"Well," said Grandpa George harshly,"It's got to be Joelle. She did open the ticket with you after all."

"No, I couldn't. Your mother deserves a day off much more than I do."

"But," said Mrs Bucket with a tone of finality, "You are far more interested in Mr. Willy Wonka and his factory than I am. So you'll be going."

"You're all going to gang up on me aren't you?"

The entire family nodded in unison.

"Oh, fine." She conceded with false grumpiness.

That night Charlie slipped out of bed and outside, to look at the towering spires of the chocolate factory. There he encountered a Mr. Arthur Slugworth, who offered him a great deal of money to get him one Everlasting Gobstopper.

Charlie ran back inside the house and woke his aunt, explaining the mysterious encounter to her with wide eyed apprehension.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Turnout_

The next day, Charlie and Joelle Bucket put on their best ragged clothes, shone their scuffed shoes, and took their golden ticket to the gates of the factory to wait to be let in.

The crowd was horrid. No one knew that Charlie had the last ticket, so they had to jostle their way through the international media to wait with the other ticket holders. They stood there, firmly standing their ground while the media interviewed the group of four abominable children.

Then, the clock struck ten, and all eyes were fixed on the door that led in to the factory. The chiming stopped and the door opened of its' own accord to let out a man.

His red-gold curls were covered by a dark orange top hat. And he wore a muted olive green bow tie and a lilac vest covered by a grape colored tailcoat. He was limping horribly, his cane flexing with every step he took.

Most people saw the clothes, the hat, and the limp. Joelle saw his eyes.

They were the bluest eyes she had ever seen, and despite the downtrodden expression on his face, they were glinting with amusement.

He removed his top hat as he came forward, then his cane got stuck in the cobblestones, and he dropped forward into a summersault.

The crowd erupted into wild applause.

"Thank you. Thank you." He told them,"Welcome my friends. Welcome to my chocolate factory. Would you come forward please?"

He beckoned the group forward. No one noticed the two poorly dressed people in the back as greeted his guests.

"Welcome. It's so nice to have you here. So glad you could come. It should be such an exciting day. I hope you enjoy it." He paused,"I think you will. And now would you please show me your golden tickets?"

"I'm Veruca Salt."

"My dear girl, what a pleasure to meet you. How pretty you look in that lovely mink coat."

"I've got three others at home."

"And . Overjoyed to see you sir. Would you just step over there please?"

"Augustus Gloop."

"My dear boy, wonderful to see you, and in such fine shape too. And this must be the radiant . Just over there my dear lady."

"Violet Beauregarde."

"Darling child, welcome to Wonka's."

"What kind of gum you got here?"

"Charming, charming."

"Sam Beauregarde here, Wonka."

"My dear sir, what a genuine pleasure."

"If you ever need anything in the automotive line just call me. The number's on the card. With Sam B. it's a guarantee."

"I'm Mike Teevee. WHAM! " he pushed his toy gun straight in to Wonka's stomach,"You're dead."

"Wonderful to meet you Mike. And Mrs. Teevee,how do you do? What an adorable little boy you have."

"Thank you."

"Just over there."

That's when everyone noticed the two Bucket's.

Charlie handed his ticket calmly to .

"Charlie Bucket."

"Well, well, Charlie Bucket. Must have gotten your ticket at the last minute?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you are Mrs. Bucket."

"Just Ms. Bucket. I'm Charlie's aunt."

"Welcome, both of you."

Their eyes met briefly before they joined the others in the group. Joelle's hand rested excitedly on Charlie's shoulder as Mr. Wonka led them inside, snatching his cane from the cobblestones on the way.

"Now," Wonka said as they entered a room with curtains covering one wall and the strangest hat and coat hooks on the other, "Remove your hats, coats, galoshes and hurry. We have so much time and so little to see. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you."

"When do I get my chocolate?"

"First take off your coat Violet."

"What interesting looking coat hangers."

Mrs. Teevee and Violet placed their coats on the golden hands of the coat rack and shrieked as the hands grasped their items.

"Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous!" interjected Mr. Wonka,"Don't be alarmed. As soon as you're outer vestments are in hand, we will begin."

Joelle gave her coat to on of the racks and helped Charlie with his before the group gathered around once more.

"Now, will the children kindly step up here."

Mr. Wonka drew back the golden curtain covering the wall. It revealed a contract that covered the entire wall.

"Floods, fire,frost or frippery." Read Mr. Salt.

"Accidents? What kind of accidents?" drawled Mike

"I didn't know we had to sign anything for this tour." Said .

"I can't see what it says in the bottom."

Joelle just smiled at the text.

"Aunt Jo? What does it say?"

"Essentially that we are to follow Mr. Wonka's directions and that we are responsible for ourselves. "

"Why don't they just write that instead?" asked Charlie curiously.

"Because people tend to be greedy Charlie."

The others looked at her oddly. She shrugged.

"Violet, you first." said Mr. Wonka gesturing with his cane, "Sign here."

"Hold it! Let me through here. Violet Baby, don't you sign anything. What's this all about?"

"Standard form of contract."

"Don't talk to me about contracts Wonka. I use them myself, they're strictly for suckers."

"Yes, but you wouldn't begrudge me a little protection. A drop." He held his fingers just a little bit apart.

"I don't sign anything without my lawyer."

"My Veruca doesn't sign anything either."

"Then she don't go in. I'm sorry. Rules of the house."

"I want to go in!" shrieked Veruca, "Don't you dare stop me!"

"I'm only trying to help you sweetheart."

"Gimme that pen. You're always making things difficult."

"Nicely handled Veruca. She's a girl that knows where she's ?" Said Wonka cheerily.

"Wait what's all that small print there at the bottom?"

"Oh! If you have any questions, dial information. Thank you for calling. Mike? Augustus?"

"Saw this in a movie once," said Mike informatively,"Guy signed his wife's insurance he bumped her off."

"Clever."

"What about me, Aunt Jo."

"Go ahead,Charlie. Thank you for asking."

"Let's go in! Come on!" Whined Veruca.

"Patience, patience, little dear. Everything has to be in order."

Charlie finished signing his name and stepped down to stand by his aunt, who ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Everyone signed? Yes? Good! On we go!" Wonka said exuberantly.

He clattered down the stairs and walked ahead of them to a large, frosted glass door that had a black combination lock.

"Ninety-nine, fourty-four,one hundred percent pure." He muttered, twisting the knob deftly between his fingers.

"Just through the other door please." He said, his eyes sparkling as the contestants moved into the psychedelic room.

Everyone squished together looking for the door until someone shouted that there was no way out.

Mr. Wonka just pushed through them and felt at the walls, going around until he was looking back at the door they just came through.

"We must get to the end of the session. We must press through. Come along. Ah! Here we are."

"Don't be daft Wonka, that's the way we came in."

"Are you sure?

"We can't get through with that!"

Then Mr. Wonka pushed the door open, revealing a place different from where they had started from. It had doors all along the hallway, and as he progressed along it, it seemed to get smaller and smaller.

"Is this some kind of funhouse?"

"Why, are you having fun?"

"I've had enough of this. I'm not going in there."

"Stay here Vi, we're going back."

"Oh you can't get out backwards. You've got to go forwards to go back."

The other duo's chattered fearfully until Mr. Salt said he doubted any of them would make it out alive.

"Oh, you must never, never doubt what nobody is sure about." Said Mr. Wonka, who was scrunched up next to the smallest door at the very end of the hallway.

"You're not squeezing me through that tiny door." Pointed out Mrs. Gloop anxiously.

Joelle leaned down and whispered in Charlie's ear.

"I have a riddle for you Charlie. Are doors walls? Or are walls doors?"

Charlie's eyes widened with realization and they grinned at each other.

"You're off your bleedin' nut, Wonka. No one can get through there." Said Mr. Salt fearfully.

"My dear friends, you are now about to enter the nerve center to the entire Wonka factory. Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities. And some of my realities become dreams. And "he added, his eyes joyful,"almost everything you see is eatable. Eadible." He rapidly corrected.

"I mean," he said drawing out the suspense," that you can eat almost everything you see."

"Let me in! I'm starving!" said Augustus, his thick accent obscuring his words.

"Now don't get over 't lose your head Augustus. We wouldn't want anyone to lose that." He turned away and pressed the panel over the miniature door to reveal a small keyboard, "Yet."

"Now the combination," he faced the guests briefly once more," This is a musical lock."

His fingers fluttered skillfully over the keys as a happiness filled tune drifted through their ears.

"Rachmaninov." Said Mrs. Teevee approvingly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, the chocolate room."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Trouble_

The wall drifted open with a gentle push to reveal a room that only Willy Wonka could have created.

Down a small set of concrete steps, the room was filled with marvelous things. Trees that grew every kind of candy imaginable. Sweet sugar grass and candy mushrooms with whipped cream spots.

What fascinated Charlie and Joelle the most however, was the chocolate waterfall that splashed into a swiftly flowing chocolate river.

Willy Wonka closed the door softly behind them and watched the expressions on their faces. Most of them were greedy, with only thoughts for more etched into their features. But the Buckets, their faces were illuminated with shining adoration.

Ms. Bucket's face held a delight that Wonka had believed to be lost to adults, and he found himself fascinated by the golden color of her eyes for a single moment. It reminded him of the color of the warm caramels he produced here in the factory .

Joelle nearly jumped when Wonka spoke.

"Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three."

Then his melodious voice filled the silence with rich vibration.

Come with me  
>And you'll be<br>In a world of  
>Pure imagination<br>Take a look  
>And you'll see<br>Into your imagination

We'll begin  
>With a spin<br>Traveling in  
>The world of my creation<br>What we'll see  
>Will defy<br>Explanation

If you want to view paradise  
>Simply look around and view it<br>Anything you want to, do it  
>Wanta change the world?<br>There's nothing  
>To it<p>

There is no  
>Life I know<br>To compare with  
>Pure imagination<br>Living there  
>You'll be free<br>If you truly wish to be

If you want to view paradise  
>Simply look around and view it<br>Anything you want to, do it  
>Wanta change the world?<br>There's nothing  
>To it<p>

There is no  
>Life I know<br>To compare with  
>Pure imagination<br>Living there  
>You'll be free<br>If you truly  
>Wish to be<p>

As he had sung, he had led them down the stairs. Taking two steps forward and one back , until they reached the bottom of the stairs. There he turned and bowed, allowing them in to his world.

They had scattered and wandered through the room, finding their favorite sweets in no time at all.

Joelle let everyone else precede her as she imagined the room during Christmas. In her mind the room was covered with sugarflake snow in many different flavors. A giant mint chocolate tree stood proudly, covered in powdered sugar and shining, crystalline blown candy baubles. Snow-cone snowmen stood colorful in their corner.

"Aunt Jo? What are you thinking about?"

"Christmas. Can't you see the frosting icicles? And the iced cream coating the chocolate river so thick you could skate on it?"

"Iced cream? Don't you mean ice cream?"

"I mean iced cream. Like the kind you get off the top of milk only frozen."

"You think of the most amazing things Aunt Jo."

She chuckled and swiped a fruity candy cane from a nearby tree. Then she prodded Charlie jovially with it.

"Hey!" he yelped and nabbed a cane for himself.

He tried to poke one of her ticklish spots and found his candy tapped easily away. That was the start of an epic candy cane war that travelled halfway across the room.

It continued energetically until Charlie gave his aunts' candy cane a particularly vicious whack and it snapped in two. They looked at each other and broke out into uncontrollable laughter before they consumed their weapons.

"What a disgusting dirty river." Said , as she munched on a sweet.

"It's industrial waste that. You've ruined your watershed Wonka. It's polluted."

"It's chocolate." Corrected Wonka.

"That's chocolate!" exclaimed Veruca.

"That's chocolate." Confirmed Charlie, his eyes shining.

"A chocolate river." Said Violet, smacking her gum in disbelief.

"Ten thousand gallons an hour." Informed Wonka as they gazed at his creation with wide eyes, "And look at my waterfall. That's the most important thing. It's mixing my chocolate. It's actually churning my know no other factory in the world mixes its' chocolate by waterfall. But it's the only way if you want it just right."

"Aunt Jo! Look over there across the river! They're little men!"

The group scrambled for a better look. There were exclamations from everyone and a brief "I want one NOW!" from Veruca as explained about the Oompa Loompas.

Then there was a disgusting slurping noise from the banks of the chocolate river. The group turned to look at Augustus as he crouched by the river, licking at the melted chocolate in his hands like a dog.

"Augustus, sweetheart, save some room for later."

"O-oh! Augustus please! Don't do that!" said ,"My chocolate must never be touched by human hands! Don't do that! You're contaminating my entire river! Please I beg you! Augustus!"

Then Augustus leaned in just a little too far and plopped into the river.

"My chocolate!" yelled Mr. Wonka, dismayed.

"Help!" burbled Augustus, as he flailed helplessly in the chocolate.

"My chocolate! My beautiful chocolate!"

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" shrieked Mrs. Gloop.

"Help. Police. Murder." Said emotionlessly.

"Quick Augustus!" said Charlie, stretching a large lollipop out over the water.

Augustus grabbed at it and his hands slipped instantly off as he was sucked beneath the creamy surface of the river.

"What's happening?"

"It looks like he's drowning."

"Dive in! Save him!" bawled Mrs. Gloop.

Willy Wonka just opened a small box of candy he had retrieved from his coat pocket and followed the trail of bubbles that was Augustus Gloop with his eyes.

"It's too late." He told her

"Too late!"

"He's had it. The suctions got him."

"Augustus! Come back!" screamed his mother, her layers of fat jiggling worriedly, "Where is he?"

"Watch the pipe." Said the calm Wonka as he nibbled on his candy.

"How long is he going to stay down Daddy?" asked Veruca.

"He can't swim!"

"No better time to learn." breathed out Joelle to Charlie as Mr. Wonka said the same thing to the rest of the group.

They watched, the other duos narrating Augustus's journey up the pipe until his stomach got stuck somewhere towards the top.

"There's terrific pressure building up behind the blockage." said Mr. Wonka, his eyes alight.

"I wonder how long it's going to take him to push through," said Mr. Salt, his eyes bugging out of his skull.

"The suspense is terrible," said Mr. Wonka just before he placed another candy in his mouth, "I hope it'll last."

Then, Augustus shot up the pipe, the chocolate rising slowly after him.

"He'll be turned in to marshmallows in five seconds!"

"Impossible my dear lady. That's absurd. Unthinkable."

"Why?"

"Because that pipe doesn't go to the marshmallow room, it goes to the fudge room."

"You terrible man."

Wonka put a small, silver flute to his lips and allowed it to make a twittering noise. The noise summoned an Oompa Loompa.

"Take Mrs. Gloop straight to the fudge room, but look sharp, or her little boy is bound to get poured in the boiler."

"You boiled him up. I know it!"

"Nil desperandum, my dear lady. Across the desert lies the promised land. Goodbye . Adieu! Auf wiedersehen! Gesundheit! Farewell."

The rest of the group jumped when the men on the other side of the river began to sing.

Oompa Loompas:  
>Oompa Loompa, doompadee doo<br>We have a perfect puzzle for you  
>Oompa Loompa, doompadee dee<br>If you are wise you will listen me

What do you get when you guzzle down sweets?  
>Eating as much as an elephant eats?<br>What are you at getting terribly fat?  
>What do you think will come of that?<br>I don't like the look of it

Oompa Loompa, doompadee dah  
>If you're not greedy you will go far<br>You will live in happiness too  
>Like the Oompa Loompa doompadee do<br>Doompadee do

"And that, Charlie," said Joelle, "is why we must be careful of what we eat, but even more careful about how we eat it."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Travel_

"Mesdames et messieurs, maintenant nous allons faire grand petit voyage par bateau. Voulez-vous entrer le Wonkatania?"*

"Wow! What a boat!" said Charlie excitedly, his eyes aglow with rapture.

"That's quite a nice little canoe you've got there Wonka." Said Mr. Salt, his greedy eyes gleaming as he stared at it.

"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by. All aboard, everybody."

"Ladies first, and that means Veruca."

Joelle, waited politely until the rest of the group was on board before stepping gently towards the boat. She reached out to balance herself using one of the golden poles and found her hand being gently clasped by another.

She looked up, startled, to find Mr. Wonka looking at her intently.

"Thank you." She murmured as her face tinted a delicate shade of pink.

Mr. Wonka helped her on to the boat before stepping in himself. She and her nephew intrigued him. They, thankfully, weren't like the other guests. He hoped that they would make it through the entire tour.

"You're going to love this." He told the guests, a small smile on his face as he settled on a seat at the front of the boat, where he could see the entire group. "Just love it." He added, his crisp gaze settling on Joelle.

The Oompa Loompa who was the captain rang the bell and the others at the back began to paddle smoothly through the chocolate.

"Hey, Daddy! I want a boat like this. A beautiful paddleboat."

"What she wants," whispered Joelle to Charlie," is a good spanking."

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Said Mrs. Teevee, her face slightly green.

"Here, try one of these." Said Wonka, handing her a small, bright blue candy.

"What are they?"

"Rainbow drops. Suck them and you can spit in seven different colors."

"Spitting's a nasty habit." Said Violet, her pinky finger up one of her nostrils.

"I know a worse one." Said Wonka, his face revealing nothing.

"What business you in, Salt?" asked Mr. Beauregarde.

"Nuts."

"Hang on. Where are we going?"

"I don't know, and what's that tunnel up there? Hey Wonka! I want off!"

"Round the world and home again! That's the sailors' way!" said Wonka, his eyes glittering in the darkness.

That comment caused the guests to start into a discordant chorus of shrieks and shouts.

"Faster!" said Wonka, much to the dismay of the passengers.

Joelle felt Charlie len in to her slightly and she looked down to see his confused eyes. She winked at him and settled back to enjoy the ride, wrapping one arm around his this shoulders.

She had noticed that liked to excite his audiences, whether with fear or euphoria, but he had yet to actually hurt anyone. Augustus for example, had gone up the pipe and into the fudge room, but she had a hunch that the boiler he had spoken of wasn't even on today. If there even was a boiler.

Then, once again, Mr. Wonka started to sing. His voice rose and fell with haunting resonance as pictures flashed by them so fast that they got no more than a glimpse.

There's no earthly way of knowing,  
>Which direction we are going<br>There's no knowing where we're rowing  
>Or which way the river's flowing<p>

Is it raining, is it snowing  
>Is a hurricane a-blowing<p>

Not a speck of light is showing  
>So the danger must be growing<br>Are the fires of Hell a-glowing  
>Is the grisly reaper mowing<p>

YES!. The danger must be growing !  
>For the rowers keep on rowing !<br>And they're certainly not showing !  
>Any signs that they are slowing !<p>

Joelle's heartbeat sped up, but it had nothing to do with the eerie images that flashed by. It had to do with Wonka's expert manipulation of his audience, and the smooth tones of his voice.

"Wonka! This has gone far enough!"

"Quite right. Stop the boat!" he paused a moment while the lights came on,"We're there."

"Where?" inquired the queasy .

"Here. A small step for mankind, but a giant step for us. All ashore!" he chimed out, and exited before everyone else could even stand.

"Now why don't they show stuff like that on TV?"

"What a nightmare."

"Daddy, I do NOT want a boat like this."

Joelle smiled and stretched while everyone crowded the exits. Then she grasped at one of the golden poles and tugged herself partially up to the dock. As she let go of the pole, Mr. Wonka once again clasped her fingers and helped her complete the journey.

"That's a lot of different types of cream." Said Charlie, looking from the sign labeling storeroom number fifty-four to his aunt, her face was still pink from embarrassment.

"Meine Herrschaften, schenken Sie mir ihre aufmerksamkeit." Said Wonka, gesturing the two of them over with the rest of the group," Sie kommen jetzt in den interessantesten und gleichzeitig geheimsten raum meiner fabrik. Meine Damen und Herren, der Inventing Room.* Now, remember, no messing about. No touching, no tasting, no telling."

"No telling what?" asked Mike.

"You see, all of my most secret inventions are cooking and simmering in here. Old Slugworth would give his false teeth to get inside for just five minutes, so don't touch a thing!"

Then, he opened the door to reveal a room full of brightly colored bubbling liquid. Steam drifted around the ceiling and bubbles drifted haphazardly around the room. Giant chemistry vials filled with bright liquids the worktables.

"Even if Slugworth did get in here he wouldn't be able to find anything." Said Charlie in amazement, his eyes wandering as drifted from table to table, altering a few mixtures here and there.

"Shouldn't you be wearing rubber gloves?" asked Mr. Salt, "You'll have the health inspectors after you. You know that, don't you?"

Mr. Wonka paid him no attention as he stirred a mixture on front of him.

"Invention, my dear friends is is ninety-three percent perspiration, . . . six percent electricity, . . . four percent evaporation, . . . and two percent butterscotch ripple."

"That's a hundred and five percent!"exclaimed Mike.

"Of course," said Joelle," if you want something to be extra ordinary you have to give it a little extra."

Wonka didn't hear her as he tasted the concoction and nodded once before moving on.

Joelle browsed the room, her eyes drifting briefly through the ingredients on each table before travelling to the next. What most people considered strange ingredients she though were ingenious.

Willy Wonka, she decided, was quite the intelligent person. He spoke at least three languages and he allowed himself to think outside of what everyone else was thinking. He wasn't concerned with what others though about him at all.

A loud alarm interrupted her musing as she turned to find Mr. Beauregarde standing guiltily by a cloth covered machine.

"No! Don't. Please. Forgive me, but no one must look under there. This is the most secret machine in my entire factory. This is the one that's really going to sizzle old Slugworth."

"What's it do?" asked the ever curious Charlie.

"Would you like to see?" asked Wonka conspiratorially.

"Yeah!" replied Charlie excitedly.

Wonka pressed a single button on the side of the machine and the group watched with fascination as the machine whirled and whistled beneath its' cloth covering. They watched as a multicolored, clumpy candy emerged from beneath the covering.

"But what's it do?"

"Can't you see? It makes everlasting gobstoppers."

"Everlasting gobstoppers?" probed Violet, her voice devious.

"For kids with very little pocket money. You can suck them and suck them and they'll never get any smaller."

"I want and everlasting gobstopper!" said Veruca.

"Me too!" added Violet.

"And me!" barked Mike

"Fantastic invention. Revolutionize the industry. You can suck 'em and suck 'em and suck 'em, and they'll never get any smaller. Never. At least I don't think they do. A few more tests."

"How do you make 'em?" asked Mike

"I'm a trifle deaf in this ear. Speak a little louder next time. Who wants an Everlasting Gobstopper? I can only give them to you if you solemnly swear to keep them for yourselves and never show them to another living soul as long as you all shall live. Agreed?"

The children chorused a resounding "Agreed", but Veruca had her fingers crossed behind her back.

Wonka passed one candy to each of the children, eager to share his invention with others.

"Everybody has had one, and one is enough for anybody. Now come along. Now over here, if you'll follow me, I have something rather special to show you."

"Oh, it's special all right. I just hope my Veruca doesn't want one."

It was one of the most amazing things Joelle had ever seen. There were mashers and mixers and a hive of live bees covered in glass. She just wanted to know what it did.

"Isn't she scrumptious? She's my revolutionary, non-pollutionary mechanical wonder. Now, button, button, who's got the button?"

"It's over there." Said Charlie informatively as he pointed to the side of the machine.

"Ah! Thank you."

Wonka pressed the button, and the machine began to squish, slosh, and spin as it did whatever it was supposed to do. They watched it with fascination until a single, beige piece of gum was produced.

"By gum! It's gum!" said Violet as she chomped on her own, three month old piece.

"Wrong! It's the most amazing, fabulous, sensational gum in the whole world. It's an entire three course dinner all by itself." Corrected Wonka.

"That sounds like my kind of gum!" Violet said ecstatically as she stuck her gum behind her ear. Then she popped the piece of gum produced by the contraption straight into her mouth.

"Stop! Don't!" said Mr. Wonka, rushing to halt her chewing.

"Why won't she listen to Mr. Wonka?" asked Charlie, befuddled.

"Because, Charlie," said his aunt, her voice smooth," she doesn't realize that Mr. Wonka knows a great deal more about his factory than we do., and that it would be a wise idea to listen to him."

Then, Violet Beauregarde began to turn blue-ish purple. She had reached the dessert.

Mr. Beauregarde watched in horror as his little girl swelled and filled with juice, turning into an overly large, overly human blueberry.

What disgusted Joelle most was the fact that despite all of this, Violet never stopped chewing the gum.

"I told you I hadn't gotten it quite right yet." Said Wonka without remorse.

"You can say that again! Look at what it's done to my kid!"

"It always goes wrong when it gets to the dessert. Always." Pondered Wonka, his face amused as he watched Violet grow larger with every passing second.

"Perhaps add some vanilla." Whispered Joelle to Charlie ,"That would fix it, the blueberry is just too sweet for anything but a blueberry to handle, and vanilla wouldn't ruin the flavor."

"What was that?" asked Wonka, turning to face them.

"My Aunt just thought you might be able to fix that with some vanilla. She said the juice was too sweet for anything but a blueberry and vanilla wouldn't ruin the flavor."

Wonka looked at her with bright eyes as she turned pink once again. She didn't look up until Wonka called a group of Oompa Loompa's entered to roll Violet away. They were singing as Mr. Beauregard threatened Wonka and complained about having a blueberry for a daughter.

"Where is fancy bred? In the heart, or in the head? Shall we roll on? Thank you."he told an Oompa Loompa as it handed him his cane," Well, well, well . . . two naughty, nasty little children gone. Three good, sweet little children left. Hurry, please,we have a long way to go yet."

…

French translation* Ladies and Gentlemen, now we are going for a fun little boat trip. Do you want to come aboard the Wonkatania?

German translation* My friends , please give me your attention. You have now come to the most interesting and, at the same time, the most secret room of my factory. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Inventing Room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Trash_

They travelled through the door and in to a hallway lined with colorful fruit covered wallpaper. They were almost to the end of the hallway when Wonka turned suddenly, his eyes shining.

"Wait a minute. Must show you this. Lickable wallpaper for nursery walls. Lick an orange, it tastes like an orange. Lick a pineapple, it tastes like a pineapple. Go ahead, try it."

The group turned and each member picked a fruit to lick. Charlie chose a realistic looking banana and Joelle chose a cluster of unfamiliar berries.

"Mmm." Said Mike, licking enthusiastically, "I got a plum."

"Aunt Jo, this banana is fantastic! It tastes so real!"

"Try some more! The strawberries taste like strawberries! The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!"

"Snozzberries? There's no such thing." Said Veruca as she turned back to the wall.

Wonka clasped her face with one hand and rotated her back to face him.

"We are the music-makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." He released her and gestured them forward. "Come along. Come along"

"Something very unusual in here." Said Wonka as he led them through an open doorway, "Bubble, bubbles everywhere, but not a drop to drink. Yet."

"What's it making ?" asked Charlie, gazing at the shining machine in the center of the room.

"Fizzy-lifting drinks. They fill you with gas, and the gas is so terrifically lifting that it lifts you right off the ground like a balloon. But I daren't sell it yet. It's still too powerful."

The other children abruptly filled the room with complaints.

"No, no, no. Absolutely not." He told them with a tone of finality, " There'd be children floating around all over the place. Come along now, don't hang about. You're going to be wild about this next room."

The group proceeded forward. Charlie sent a last longing look towards the room over his shoulder then looked up at his aunt.

She looked at him and winked before placing a hand gently on his shoulder. He beamed up at her and they both listened as Mr. Wonka led them briskly past other rooms with strange contents.

They looked inside one room that seemed to be made completely of small round candies and another that had boxes and boxes filled with smaller more colorful boxes.

"Most of the rooms in this hallway are successful experiments that need just a little altering. " said Wonka informatively," As we get farther down the hallway, the experiments get more complete. And down this hallway, is our next destination."

The group made a collective left and stumbled to follow their guide as his pace seemed to speed up as they travelled. Then he abruptly turned and led them in to a room that had five abnormally large, white geese sitting around the top of the room.

Joelle watched as a golden egg the size of her head dropped down through a contraption on to a scale of some sort. An arrow pointed to the word "good" , then an Oompa Loompa picked up the egg and took it over to a worktable for polishing.

"I know what you're thinking: They can't be doing what they're doing. But they are. They have to. I haven't met the Oompa Loompa yet who could do it. These are the geese that lay the golden eggs. As you can see, they're larger than ordinary geese. As a matter of fact, they're quadruple size geese which produce octuple size eggs. They're laying overtime right now for Easter."

"But Easter's over." Said Mike factually.

Wonka rapidly covered his mouth before he could utter another word.

"They don't know that," whispered Wonka,"I'm trying to get ahead for next year."

"What happens if they drop one of those eggs?" asked curiously.

"An omlette fit for a king." Replied Wonka, his eyes drifting over the remaining guests.

He was surprised that the Bucket's hadn't sipped the fizzy-lifting drink. He had been sure that would be their downfall, but it seemed that they were wiser than their counterparts. His eyes landed on Charlie's aunt for a moment.

She was rather different from most adults he had met. Her imagination still seemed to work fine, and her manners were real instead of used to impress others.

"Are they chocolate eggs?" asked Veruca, her shrill voice interrupting his thoughts.

"Golden chocolate eggs. That's a great delicacy. But I wouldn't get too close. The geese are very temperamental. That's why we have the Eggdicator."

"The Eggdi-what?" asked Mike.

The Eggdicator. The Eggdicator can tell the difference between a good egg and a bad egg. If it's a good egg, it's shined up and shipped out all over the world. But if it's a bad egg , down the chute."

"So it's an educated Eggdicator."said Joelle,"I wish the teachers at Charlie's school were the same thing."*

"It's a lot of nonsense." Said Mr. Salt with an arrogant sniff.

"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men." Wonka told them in a sing-song voice.

"Daddy! I want a golden goose!"

"Here we go again." Groaned Charlie, annoyed at Veruca's antics.

"All right sweetheart. Daddy will get you a golden egg as soon as we get home."

"No! I want one of those!"

"Wonka, how much do you want for a golden goose?"

"They're not for sale."

"She can't have one." Said Wonka, clearly drawing the line.

"Who says I can't?"

"A man with a funny hat."

"I want one! I want a golden goose!" she said, her piggy voice taking on a musical quality.

"Gooses! Geeses! I want my geese to lay gold eggs for Easter."

"It will, sweetheart ." comforted .

"At least a hundred a day !"

"Anything you say."

"And by the way."

"What? "

"I want a feast. "

"You ate before you came to the factory !"

"I want a bean feast! "

"Oh, one of those."

"Cream buns and doughnuts and fruitcake with no nuts. So good you could go nuts!"

"You can have all those things when you get home."

"No, now! I want a ball .I want a party. Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons and give it to me now! I want the world ! I want the whole world !  
>I want to lock it all up in my pocket It's my bar of chocolate ! Give it to me now! I want today,I want tomorrow .I want to wear 'em like braids in my hair and I don't want to share 'em ! I want a party with room fulls of thousand tons of ice cream and if I don't get the things I am after I'm going to scream! I want the works.I want the whole works. Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises of all shapes and sizes! And now! Don't care how, I want it now ! Don't care how,I want it now !"<p>

Then Veruca ,who had been roaming energetically around the room, destroying the work of the Oompa Loompas who had been polishing the golden eggs, stood majestically on the Eggdecator.

The machine promptly made a disgusted noise and the trapdoor opened to allow Veruca to fall down the garbage chute, where she belonged.

"She was a bad egg." Said Wonka pityingly as the chute closed.

"Where did she go?" asked the panicked Mr. Salt, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Where all the other bad eggs go, down the garbage chute."

"The garbage chute? Where does that go?"

"To the furnace."

"The furnace! She'll be sizzled! Like a sausage!"

"She could be stuck just inside the tube."

"Just inside? Hang on Veruca darling! Daddy's coming!"

He rushed over as quickly as his stubby legs could carry him. He leaned over the Eggdecator , light shining off his bald spot. The Eggdecator made yet another disgusted sound, and Mr. Salt followed his daughter down the chute.

"There's going to be a lot of garbage today." Said Wonka flatly.

"Well," said Joelle, her tone as flat as Wonka's,"Veruca may not have gotten what she wanted, but she is where she's supposed to be."

"They won't really be burned up will they?" questioned Charlie worriedly.

"Well, I think that furnace is lit only every other day, so they have a good sporting chance, haven't they?" He led them out of the room," I don't understand it. The children are disappearing like rabbits. Well, we still have each other. Shall we press on?"

Joelle couldn't help but notice he didn't really care. She didn't blame him though, most of the children were little brats, and she had the strangest hunch that none of them were really getting hurt. He just didn't seem to be the type of person that would allow others to get hurt in his factory.

…

Obscure joke* educated Eggdecator= educated educator, she's calling Charlie's teachers uneducated.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Television_

",can't we sit down for a minute? The pace is killing me." Groaned miserably.

Joelle looked at her feet. It served her right for wearing those heels.

"My dear lady, transportation has already been arranged." He informed her kindly as they stepped into a hallway where a group of Oompa Loompas were filling a giant copper tank with bottles of soda.

"Behold the Wonkamobile!" exclaimed their curly haired host as he clambered up the side of the machine to the drivers spot," A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Places, please, the dance is about to begin. Better grab a seat, they're going fast."

"Mr. Wonka?" asked Joelle as they took their seats, "What was that they were putting in it?"

He turned around and looked down at her and Charlie, his blue eyes glowing.

"Oh, ginger ale, ginger pop, ginger beer, beer bubbles, bubble-ade, bubble cola, double cola, double bubble burp-a-cola, and all the crazy carbonated stuff that tickles your nose. Few people realize what tremendous power there is in one of those things."

"Then why does it need so much of it?"

"Because it's a very heavy machine that's not very efficient. Now is everybody set?"

"Is it gonna go fast Aunt Jo?"

"I don't know Charlie, but it has more gas in it than a politician."

"Now hold on tight. I'm gonna really open her up this time and see what she can do."

The Wonkamobile began to move forward slowly, and as it did so the pipes all over the vehicle began to gush bubbles. It wasn't long until everyone was covered with foam.

Joelle scooped up a bunch of fizz from her lap and plopped it carefully on Charlie's head. Charlie flung a blob back at her, and they erupted into laughter and all out bubble war.

Wonka couldn't help but notice they both had a nice laugh, full of happiness and possibility. Charlie's laugh was that of an innocent child, and his aunt was the kind of laugh that said, "I have experienced life and I still think it's fun. No matter what."

He shook his head to clear it of errant thoughts and foam as they went through the Hsawaknow. Now was not the time to concentrate on these things, he needed to test Mike Teevee.

"What was that?" asked Charlie as he stared down at his now clean clothes.

"Hsawaknow."

"Is that Japanese?"

"No. It's 'wonkawash' spelled backwards. That's it ladies and gentlemen, our journey is over."

"You mean that's as far as it goes."said Mrs. Teevee disbelievingly, her face slack as she turned to face him.

"Couldn't we have walked?" asked Mike irritatingly as he stepped off the machine.

"If the Good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates." Wonka informed them.

"That also would have defeated the purpose." Said Joelle to Mike, ruffling his hair as she did so.

"What purpose?"

"Precisely."

"Now, if you could all put these on. We have to be very careful. Very dangerous stuff inside."

Joelle tugged the white suit over her other clothes carefully, but when she reached back to find the arms of the suit she couldn't locate them.

"Allow me." Said Wonka as he took the sleeves, which had been curled inside themselves, and held them out for her. She finished putting on the suit with a brightly tinted face.

Charlie watched the interaction carefully. hadn't helped anyone else with their suits. And before that he hadn't helped anyone else on to the boat. His aunt was turning pink like she did when she was embarrassed too.

A lightbulb flickered on in Charlie's brain as held open the door for them. He didn't think the two of them realized it yet, but they liked each other!

He smiled. They would be perfect for each other. They both absolutely loved candy, and they were both quirky and creative. He just needed to get them to really see each other.

"Wonkavision," interjected as he strode into a completely white room,"My latest and greatest invention."

"It's television." Re-informed Mike.

"It's Wonkavision. Now I suppose you all know how ordinary television works-"

"Sure I do," interrupted Mike," Sure, I do. You photograph something, and then the photograph is split up into millions of tiny pieces, and they go whizzing through the air down to your TV set where they're all put together again in the right order."

"You should open your mouth a little wider when you speak. So I said to myself, 'If they can do it with a photograph, why can't I do it with a bar of chocolate?'"

"That's genius." Muttered Joelle to Charlie as a group of workers came in carrying a chocolate bar bigger than they were.

" I shall now send this chocolate bar from one end of the room to the other. It has to be big because whenever you transmit something by television, it always ends up smaller on the other end. Goggles on, please. Lights, camera, action!"

There was a blinding flash of light and screamed in shock.

"You can remove your goggles." Said , placing his own around his neck.

"Where's the chocolate?" asked Charlie

"It's flying over our heads in a million tiny pieces." Said Wonka, gesturing to the air above them with his cane.

Then he led them up a couple of white steps to a television at the other end of the room.

That was when Charlie got an idea. There were just enough steps that someone, like his aunt, might trip and fall on to someone else. This wasn't something Charlie normally did of course, but this would call for drastic measures.

"Now, watch the screen!" said Wonka as he fiddled with the dials on a panel to the side, "Here it comes. There it is." He looked at Mike" Take it"

"How can you take it? It's just a picture."

"All right." Said Wonka indignant, "You take it."

Charlie reached forward and grabbed the chocolate bar from the television screen.

"It's real."

"Taste it. It's delicious. It's just gotten smaller, that's all."

"It's perfect. Here, try some Aunt Jo."

She took the piece Charlie offered her between her fingers and placed it delicately in her mouth. Her face took on the blissful expression it always had when she ate Wonka's chocolate.

"Well?" said Charlie.

"Worth its' weight in gold, as usual."

Charlie giggled and Joelle opened one eye to give him a look that told him not to disturb her while she was eating.

Wonka looked at the expression on her face and found it made him far happier than it should have. He was extremely happy that she enjoyed his chocolate that much. Though he had no idea why. She was just another person after all.

", could you send other things? Not just chocolate I mean."

"Anything you like."

"What about people?"

"People?" he paused and though for a moment," I really don't know. I suppose I could. I'm sure I could. I'm pretty sure I could. But it could have some messy results."

Mike was already standing on the platform in front of the giant camera, his goggles in front of his eyes. Then he pressed the button to start the process.

There was an explosive flash and Mike was gone, mush to the dismay of his mother.

"Mike! Where's he gone?"

"He's up there," said Joelle unenthusiastically," in a million little pieces."

"Mike!" yelled up to the matter stream," Are you there?"

"No good shouting here. Watch the TV screen." Said as he once again began to adjust the dials to the side of the screen.

"Mike! Why is he taking so long?" She warbled out.

"A million pieces take a long time to put together."

"And you never know what order they're being arranged in. His heart could be where his foot is supposed to go." Said Joelle emotionlessly.

Charlie looked at her and she winked playfully at him, and nearly fainted.

"There's definitely something coming through."

"Is it Mike?"

"Well, it's hard to tell."

"Ohhh!" groaned as her son waved up at her from the screen.

"Our little group is getting smaller by the minute." Said Joelle to Charlie.

"Look at me, everybody; I'm the first person in the world to be sent by television. Wow, what a wild trip that was. It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. Am I coming in clear? Hey, Mom, I said, "Am I coming in clear?"

"Oh, great. He's completely unharmed."

"You call that unharmed?"

"Well, he could have had his heart where his foot was supposed to be."

"Can I do it again?"

"No! There will be nothing left!"

"Don't worry about a thing, Mom; I feel fine. I'm famous. I'm a TV star. Wait 'til the kids back home hear about this."

"Nobody will be hearing about this." Said sternly as she lifted her son by the back of his suit. She dropped him carefully into her purse and held it out to Wonka.

"Well, fortunately little boys are extremely springy and elastic. SO we'll put him in my special taffy pulling machine."

"Taffy-" Mrs. Teevee breathed almost silently.

Wonka took her purse and swung it gently as he walked her towards a group of Oompa Loompas.

"You'll find the boy in his mother's purse. Take him to the taffy room and stretch him out. But do be careful."

The Oompa Loompa gestured him down to his level and began whispering in his ear.

"What's he saying?"

"No, I won't hold you responsible."

Mrs. Teevee then fainted back on top of Joelle. Joelle groaned harshly trying to support her weight. Then a pair of Oompa Loompas gestured at her to let down in to their waiting arms. She lowered the woman carefully.

"Thank you." She told them, relieved. The nodded and proceeded to drag the incoherent woman from the room.

Then the group exited.

It was only while Mr. Wonka helped his aunt with her sleeves that Charlie realized he hadn't _done_ anything yet.

produced a bunch of letter from seemingly nowhere as they stood by a plain brown door covered with gold letters proclaiming the room as the host to the Director, the Chairman of the Board, the President, the Vice President, and so on.

"So much to do, so much to do. Invoices and bills. I must answer that note from the queen."

Mr. Wonka, what's gonna happen to the other kids? Augustus, Veruca?

"My dear boy, I promise you they'll be quite all right. When they leave here, they'll be completely restored to their normal, terrible old selves. But maybe they'll be a little bit wiser for the wear. Anyway, don't worry about them."

"So, ? What do we do now?" asked Charlie hesitantly.

"Oh, yes, well, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Excuse me for not showing you out. Straight up the stairs. You'll find the way. I'm terribly busy. Whole day wasted. Goodbye to you both. Goodbye."

Then the door to his office was closed abruptly in their faces.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Take Off_

"Aunt Jo? Did I do something wrong?"

"A person an only handle so much in one day Charlie." She told him quietly and started walking toward the exit.

"Aunt Jo? What do I do?" she turned to find Charlie holding the everlasting gobstopper with a lost look on his face.

She smiled and crouched down next to him.

"Whatever you want to, Charlie."

He looked at her for a moment, then he gave a wide smile and went in to Mr. Wonka's office.

She watched through the opening as Charlie placed the candy on the desk next to the candy maker and stepped out

"So shines a good deed in a weary world." Said a muffled voice behind them.

"Charlie!" they turned to see a frazzled looking Wonka halfway out of his office, " You won! You did it! You did it! I knew you would; I just knew you would. Oh, Charlie, forgive me for putting you through this. Please, forgive me." He shuffled them back in to his office and grabbed his coat.

"! Charlie, Ms. Bucket, meet Mr. Wilkinson."

"Slugworth!"

"No, no! That's not Slugworth! He works for me!"

"For you?"

"I had to test you, Charlie! And you passed the test! You won!"

"Won what?" asked Joelle curiously. She instantly regretted that question because Wonka's crysal blue eyes turned to her.

"The jackpot, my dear woman. The grand and glorious jackpot."

"The chocolate?" Charlie asked.

"Yes! The chocolate. But that's just the beginning. We have to get on, we have to get on; we have so much time, and so little to do. Strike that. Reverse it. This way please. " He led them briskly down the hallway until he halted in front of a pair of sliding doors.

"We'll take the Wonkavator. Step in Charlie, ." He helped her up the slight step in to the Wonkavator.

Charlie noticed that their hands stayed connected for a little longer than necessary, and Mr. Wonka's gaze stayed on her until she was comfortably inside the glass contraption.

"The Wonkavator can go sideways and slantways and longways and backways-"

"And frontways?"

"and squareways and frontways and any other ways that you can think of. It can take you to any room in the whole factory just by pressing one of these buttons. Any of these buttons. Just press a button and ZING! You're off. And up until now I've pressed them all, except one. This one. Go ahead, Charlie."

"Me?"

Wonka nodded, and Charlie pressed the button. The Wonkavator started to shake.

In fact it shook so hard that it shook Joelle right off her feet and into . Charlie crouched down for balance while the two of them tried to untangle themselves. They weren't being very successful, because every time they separated they would collapse back on to one another.

In the end, the two of them sat down together with one of Wonka's arms around Joelle's waist.

They sat down just in time too, because moments later the Wonkavator crashed through the glass of the factory roof.

Charlie looked out the window at the red rooftops of their town. Charlie even thought he saw their house.

"How did you like the factory, Charlie?" asked Wonka, his arm still fixed around Joelle's waist.

"I think it's the most wonderful place in the whole world!"

"I'm very pleased to hear you say that, because I'm giving it to you. That is alright isn't it?"

Charlie turned to face him and his aunt, who hadn't yet sought to be released from Wonka's grasp. Seeing his expression Wonka continued.

"I can't go on forever, and I don't really want to try. So, who can I trust to run the factory when I leave and take care of the Oompa Loompas for me? Not a grownup. A grownup would want to do everything his own way, not mine. That's why I decided a long time ago I had to find a child. A very honest, loving child to whom I can tell all my most precious candy making secrets."

"That's why you sent out the tickets." Said Charlie, astounded.

"That's right. The factory is yours Charlie. You can move in immediately."

"What about the family?" asked Joelle, shifting slightly to look at Wonka's face.

"The whole family can come. I want you to bring them all." As he said this his gaze fixed on Joelle, who blushed until she was almost red.

"Charlie, do you know what happened to the man who got everything her ever wanted? He lived happily ever after."

Wonka didn't have enough time to say anything else because Charlie had squished him and Joelle together with a suffocating hug.

Wonka didn't say anything else, he just wrapped Charlie in a hug, and if Joelle got caught in that hug as well, she didn't seem to mind. Not at all.

….

Thank you once again, and if you noticed something that needs fixing, tell me.

-May-B-Madd


End file.
